Die Nacktbar » Jack Eichel’s absence didn’t prevent Buffalo’s top line

BUFFALO Authentic Josh Manson Jersey , N.Y. (AP) — Jack Eichel’s absence didn’t prevent Buffalo’s top line from carrying the load again.Jeff Skinner scored twice, including his team-leading 28th goal, and Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist for the Sabres in a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.“It’s great to see that Skinner scores. At this point in the season, that’s the way it’s going to go to win a one-goal game,” Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. “We’ve lost some one-goal games in the past and it’s going to be tight. It’s going to be a great test for us.”Buffalo snapped an 0-2-1 skid while overcoming the loss of Eichel, who missed his first game since sustaining an upper-body injury in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Monday. Without disclosing the nature of the injury, Housley listed Eichel as day to day while also saying the captain will not play in Buffalo’s next game at Boston on Saturday.Eichel’s absence placed even more pressure on a team that’s spent much of this season relying on its top line, which entered the night having accounted for 49 of Buffalo’s 115 goals.Skinner and Reinhart delivered in a game the Sabres never trailed. They beat Florida for the first time since March 27, 2017, to snap an 0-6-1 skid against the Panthers.Buffalo also improved to 5-7-4 since its 10-game winning streak Ondrej Kase Jersey , which equaled a franchise record.“I don’t think we’re sort of a fragile group,” Skinner said, referring to the Sabres’ slump. “I think we did a good job of responding like that as a team.”Tage Thompson also scored for Buffalo, and Linus Ullmark stopped 35 shots to win his fourth consecutive start.Alexander Barkov had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who lost for just the third time in nine games. Mike Hoffman and Frank Vatrano also scored.Roberto Luongo gave up two goals on the first four shots he faced and finished with 29 saves.A slow start cost the Panthers three days after they overcame a 3-0 first-period deficit in a 4-3 shootout win at Detroit.“The difference was they came out stronger than us in the first period,” Hoffman said. “It’s not easy to point a finger at exactly what it is. Obviously, we’ve got to take a little more responsibility in this room.”Skinner opened the scoring 4:42 into the game. And he sealed the win by putting Buffalo up 4-2 with 3:46 left, just less than three minutes after Hoffman scored a power-play goal.Skinner scored by collecting a loose puck in his own zone, driving up the left wing and snapping a shot that sneaked in under Luongo’s right arm.With Buffalo up 2-1, Reinhart also provided a lift for the Sabres by deflecting in Lawrence Pilut’s shot 1:20 into the third period.The game featured several shifts in momentum Rickard Rakell Jersey , with each team scoring disputed goals.Vatrano cut Buffalo’s lead to 2-1 by scoring on a 2-on-1 break in which he was allowed to break free out of his own zone only after Florida’s Keith Yandle knocked over Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, who was two steps away from playing the puck.Housley said officials informed him they considered Yandle’s hit to be incidental contact.The Panthers were unhappy with Reinhart’s goal, arguing he deflected it in with a high stick.“I didn’t really know. You can’t see a lot on the monitors on the bench,” Florida coach Bob Boughner said. “We were relying on the league to review it, so I guess they obviously must have.”Buffalo had a goal disallowed 42 seconds later, when officials ruled Sabres forward Kyle Okposo interfered with Luongo before Marco Scandella snapped in a shot from inside the blue line.NOTES: Reinhart set a career best with his 31st assist of the season on Skinner’s first goal. … Evan Rodrigues took Eichel’s spot in centering Buffalo’s first line. … Florida D Chris Wideman was scratched after practicing with the team Wednesday for the first time since being acquired by the Panthers in a trade with Edmonton on Sunday.UP NEXTPanthers: Host Columbus on Saturday.Sabres: At Boston on Saturday. TORONTO (AP) — There have been times this season when the Maple Leafs felt they deserved a better fate on home ice.That wasn’t the case Tuesday night.Frederik Andersen made 36 saves to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1.The visitors had 82 shot attempts compared to the Leafs’ 40, including a 40-13 edge in a second period where Toronto barely touched the puck.“We didn’t get on the forecheck,” Leafs forward Mitch Marner said. “Freddie Andersen has been unbelievable for us every single game. … He’s the reason we stole one tonight.”Connor Brown, Marner and Nazem Kadri scored for Toronto (10-5-0), which came in just 3-5-0 at Scotiabank Arena compared to a perfect 6-0-0 on the road.“We got fooling around with the puck and they showed us how fast they were Womens Ryan Getzlaf Jersey ,” said Toronto coach Mike Babcock, whose team registered a season-low 21 shots. “We were lucky to get out of the second.”Cody Eakin scored for Vegas (6-8-1), which got 18 stops from Marc-Andre Fleury.“A lot was real good,” Knights head coach Gerard Gallant said. “I liked the way we came in here and played against a real good Toronto team.”Despite the lopsided shot clock, Andersen credited his teammates with getting him clear looks at the majority of the attempts on goal.“We’re keeping a little bit more to the outside,” Andersen said. “That makes my job easier.”The Knights were by far the better team through two periods and had a couple of opportunities to tie it early in the third down 2-1 only to have Andersen shut the door.Patrick Marleau nearly made it 3-1 for Toronto moments later off a pass from Kasperi Kapanen on a 2-on-1 rush, but the veteran flubbed his shot wide.The Knights got forward Max Pacioretty back from an upper-body injury but are still without center Paul Stastny. They lost another forward when Erik Haula went down with an apparent right leg injury five minutes into the third.Haula, who collided with Marleau along the boards, stayed down for a few minutes as he was attended to by trainers from both teams before being stretchered off.The Knights’ power play, which came in ranked 28th http://www.officialducks.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-kesler-jersey , got a chance with under nine minutes left in regulation when Jake Gardiner went off for slashing, but it was unable to score.Fleury made nice stops on Marner and John Tavares before Andersen stopped Rielly Smith’s effort from the goal line with his arm and body with 2:33 left.Vegas kept its foot on the gas with Fleury on the bench for an extra attacker, but couldn’t get much in the way of pressure before Kadri scored his fourth into an empty net with 34.1 seconds left.“It’s very frustrating,” Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore said. “We’re starting to play more of our style and we’re starting to play a better game, but we’re not burying those chances.”NOTES: Brown’s only other goal this season was into an empty net. … Stastny (lower-body injury) is expected to be out another month. UP NEXTGolden Knights: Pacioretty returns to Montreal for the first time in a game Saturday night.Maple Leafs: Visits Ottawa on Thursday night.